The WNBA is 80 percent non-white (71 percent black). It’s roughly 33 percent LGBTQ—a bunch of burly, tattooed black women with more testosterone than your average bowling alley addicts. So what happens when the best player in women’s college basketball history is a white female heterosexual? We get to see racial resentment from blacks toward whites (if not outright hatred of whites) on full display.

WNBA player Cameron Brink speaks out on white privilege in the WNBA, Fansided.com, June 7, 2024

“I will acknowledge there’s a privilege for the younger white players of the league.”
Since Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark joined the WNBA, the conversation about privilege, particularly white privilege, has become the topic of conversation around the league and how is playing a role in how she is treated.

A lot of people in the media have suggested that Clark is being treated harsher than other rookies in the league because of who she is and the color of her skin. Some people in the media have even labeled it jealousy on the other players’ part.

But the elephant in the room continues to be how the WNBA’s other players, who are mostly Black, are being made to look like villains in the league which has bothered a lot of people, particularly Black sports commentators.

However, one WNBA player, Los Angeles Sparks forward Cameron Brink, who is white, seems to understand why people feel the way they do and address the issue on social media.

“I could go way deeper into this, but I would just say growing the fan base to support all types of players. I will acknowledge there’s a privilege for the younger white players of the league. That’s not always true, but there is a privilege that we have inherently, and the privilege of appearing feminine. Some of my teammates are more masculine. Some of my teammates go by they/them pronouns. I want to bring more acceptance to that and not just have people support us because of the way that we look. I know I can feed into that because I like to dress femininely, but that’s just me. I want everyone to be accepted—not just paid attention to because of how they look.”

That statement is important, as Brink understands that she knows she and players who look like her do have an advantage at times over black players, but it is also important that she uses her platform to address those issues and speak out.

Clark is a white superstar in a league dominated by aggressively entitled black women, nearly 33 percent of which are LGBTQ. An attractive, captivating white female, who is captivating young white girls with her play and actually attracting fans to a sport most white people avoided watching precisely because of the predominately black rosters, represents a grave threat to blackness itself apparently.

This resembles another white basketball phenom from the 1970s.

In the impressive biography Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich by Mark Kriegel, the author lets slip that part of the mystique of Pistol Pete Maravich was his odd skin color that so infrequently appears upon basketball stars skin. The DNA code that made up Maravich was supplied by Europeans, and he excelled at a black sport like few black players could dream of doing.

Kriegel tells us that Pistol Pete’s father—a respected college basketball coach—thought that black players would dominate the game, based on their physiological makeup.

Another theory as to why great white hopes are few and far between is courtesy of Pistol Pete Maravich. When he was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks, people thought he would revolutionize the game but his predominately black team wouldn’t pass him the ball, deciding to practice reverse racism instead. He finally snapped, saying, “I hate you. I hate all of you n***ers.”

It’s funny—watching the way black players are treating Clark, you have to wonder how many of her legion of white fans are starting to notice the racial resentment of blacks toward not just her, but all white people in general.